E-Paper
‘No incriminating evidence exists’: Court acquits seven in 2023 Nayagaon murder case
The case, once registered under murder charges following the death of 28-year-old Amit, ended with the court declaring that “no incriminating evidence exists against the accused”
A local court has acquitted seven accused in a 2023 Nayagaon murder case after all eyewitnesses retracted their statements during examination and refused to support the allegations.
The case, once registered under murder charges following the death of 28-year-old Amit, ended with the court declaring that “no incriminating evidence exists against the accused”.
The case dates back to 2023 when Amit, a resident of Nayagaon, was allegedly assaulted during a neighbourhood dispute. Based on the complaint of Amit’s relative Ritu Kalyan, police initially registered a case of assault, which was later converted into a murder case after Amit succumbed to his injuries.
Counsel for the accused had argued that the prosecution’s case was fundamentally flawed because Amit was not present at the spot at the time of the alleged occurrence. They further pointed out that, as per the post-mortem report, Amit’s death was caused by septic shock, not by any injury attributable to an assault.
The FIR named seven members of two families, including Mahadev, Sehdev, Navneet, Bithan Devi, Kamalraj, Manju and Sudha, alleging they had attacked Amit with sticks and caused fatal injuries. Police filed the chargesheet, and the court framed charges against all seven accused on November 20, 2024.
Prosecution struggled to produce reliable witnesses
All star witnesses, including complainant Ritu Kalyan and eyewitnesses Babita, Shalu, Kiran, Anita, Satish Kumar and Ravi Kumar, retracted their statements during examination and refused to support the allegations. The court noted that the prosecution had been given multiple opportunities since November 2024 to complete its evidence, but no incriminating material had emerged.
Since the prosecution failed to produce any evidence linking the accused to the incident, the court held that recording their statements under Section 313 CrPC was unnecessary and dispensed with the requirement.
After reviewing the record and hearing arguments, the court ruled that no incriminating evidence existed against any of the accused. It then acquitted all seven and ordered their bail and surety bonds to remain in force for six months under Section 437A CrPC, after which they will stand discharged automatically.
